1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to water sport devices and more particularly to riding devices adapted to be towed by a motor boat.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The prior art includes three basic types of towable water sled devices. A first type has surfaces that are contoured or is otherwise adapted to allow the sled to be maneuvered by body weight shifting, a second type is maneuvered by varying the point of attachment of a tow rope to the sled, and a third type is steered by means of a rudder assembly.
Examples of the first type of water sled device can be found in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,685,696, 3,380,090, and 2,930,338. The first two cited patents describe small watercraft towed by a fixed towline. A user rides the craft from an upright position and steers the craft by shifting his body weight. The last cited patent is a water sled device as above with the addition of a forward hydrofoil assembly 30 and a rearward hydrofoil assembly 13. It is ridden in a prone position and steered by a shifting of the body weight.
Examples of the second type of water sled device are found in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,568,549 and 3,824,945. In the first patent a surf board 1 is coupled to a tow rope 2 by an adjustable cable assembly controlled by a control bar 12. By pulling on the control bar the effective point of attachment of the tow rope to the surfboard can be varied to steer the board. In U.S. Pat. No. 3,824,945 a similar steering mechanism is shown applied to a water sled.
Three examples of rudder steered water sleds are found in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,371,361, 3,092,857, and 3,143,357. The three patents describe water sled devices having one or more submergible rudders controlled, respectively, from the prone, standing and reclining positions.
While all of the above patents describe water sled devices which appear to be enjoyable, their universally simplistic steering mechanism preclude sophisticated hydrobatics. Further, none of the steerable water sleds are provided with the hydrofoil assembly, and no sled is provided with means for varying its buoyancy.